Beth I hear you callin'
by iJewel
Summary: Quinn Fabray was single and twenty seven. She had been alone in her life for so long that it came to a point where having company would make her feel uncomfortable but one day, she receives a life changing call from a lawyer.
1. PROLOGUE

Prologue

"So…" I said, trying to make some conversation, as I looked at my twelve-year-old daughter in the rear mirror of my car, "I set up a room especially for you. It's pink. Do you like pink?"

Beth rolled her eyes after staring at me blankly, and then she turned her head back to the window and just stared at the buildings we were passing by.

"Beth." I sighed, "Are you mad at me?"

I realized soon that I shouldn't have said anything because I got another heart piercing glare.

"I hate Chicago." The little girl finally said after a while of silence.

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say as I continued to drive.

"I hate leaving my friends behind." Beth continued.

My heart sank as soon as the words left her lips.

"I hate that I left Lima." The girl said as she pulled out her DS.

Beth opened her mouth to say something else,

"But I don't hate you."

"Really?" I felt my heart flutter.

"Yeah." Beth replied.

"At least not yet." The girl added as I pulled up in front of my two-story house.

My heart sank again, only this time, deeper.

A/N: Okay so if you liked it please do comment and review since it encourages me to write more. I do love constuctive critisicm. And yes I do know this is short... It's supposed to be short since it's just a prologue type of thing.


	2. Chapter 1

1

"House rules." I said after having an uncomfortably long dinner with the familiar blond girl.

Beth let out a groan but I shushed her before she could complain any further. One thing I got to know about her in that short amount of time was that she was amazingly talented at complaining. Whether it was about how soggy the fries they had with their burgers for dinner were or how dizzy plane ride to Chicago made her or how babyish the pink wallpaper in her room was, Beth always found something that she didn't like.

"Rule one: No watching TV or playing on the computer until you finish whatever schoolwork or chores you have." I stated, earning another groan, "Oh and by the way, you can only watch an hour of TV everyday." Beth groaned louder as she mumbled something about this not being a military school. I continued ignoring her protests and eye rolls, "Rule two: Bed time's at eight. Rule three: No going out on weekdays. Rule four: Don't waste electricity and water so if you're not using it, turn it off."

"Anything else, _mom_?" Beth said in a sarcastic tone not realizing the effect the word had on me. The little girl gave me one more eye roll, said goodnight and scurried up to her room after complaining about how long and exhausting her day was. Obviously, after many years of practice, I became masterful at maintaining my poker face so my daughter didn't realize how upset and anxious I was on the inside. Yes, on any other day I would have been over the moon to hear the words coming out of her mouth but the circumstances of the particular situation Beth and I were in at that time were different.

After I went upstairs, checked that Beth had brushed her teeth, and said goodnight I went to my room and had myself a good cry as the memories of the phone call I had with Shelby's lawyer rushed back.

_"Hello." I said into the phone._

_"Hello." Replied a soft voice, "Miss. Lucy Fabray?"_

_"Yes," I said, beginning to get nervous, "This is she."_

_"I'm Shelby Corcran's lawyer." He explained after clearing his throat, "She just passed and she left you something in her will."_

_"Really?" I was surprised to hear that after the hell I put her through in high school Shelby actually left me something, "What is it?"  
>"Her daughter." He said after obviously gathering some courage, "Well, technically, your daughter. She left you full custody of Bethany."<em>

_"What?" I gasped as tears rushed to my eyes. My dream of finally being able to hug and hold and kiss my daughter was so close._

_"But there is a catch." He explained, further, clearly raining on my parade, as Miss Rachel Berry would have put it._

_"Of course there is…" I sighed as I wondered how monstrous the catch Shelby brewed up would be._

_"Shelby's last wish is that Bethany stays in the dark about you being her birth mom." The voice on the other line nervously said, "So…for all she knows she's going to be living with a family friend."_

_"What?" I gasped again, "Is that even legal?"_

Well, obviously it was, or else I wouldn't have been in my room balling my eyes out because my daughter called me _mom_.

It was a weekend so Beth didn't have to get ready for her first day of school just yet.

I woke up early, as usual, and the house wasn't quiet at all. I could hear footsteps downstairs and the sound of an upbeat jingle of music.

I looked at my alarm clock to see that it was 8:30 in the morning. It was odd for me to hear the sound of people so early in the morning since I shut myself out and never did socialize or even go on dates, especially not after _him._

Putting on my pink fuzzy slippers I hopped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see Beth playing on her goddamn noisy DS. I noticed that she even prepared her own breakfast, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the crusts and a glass of milk.

"Good morning." I said letting a small smile form on my face. Beth looked up at me with her big bright eyes and said the same exact sentence. It was weird how my Beth acted and looked like I did when I was her age. She was a bit whinier but way more independent than I was at the age of twelve.

"So," Beth said, "I have a question."

"Shoot." I said after pouring myself a big cup of black coffee. I couldn't start my day without it, of course.

"Why'd my mom pick you to take care of me?" Beth asked after hesitating on how to ask the question for a bit.

"I thought the lawyer already explained that I'm a family friend." I replied, trying to keep my cool.

"Well." Beth said, "You must've been a good friend of my mom's for her to let you take care of me since I never even saw you before."

After hearing what she said, I froze in place.

A/N: Alrighty, so I get that this chapter's boring but so is each beginning to every story. I do hope you can be a bit patient with me as I do have a plan in mind but I need to write it all down in a way that suits me, and hopefully you too.

So review and yada yada yada.

Jewel


	3. Chapter 2

2

"W-well…" I stammered, "I was Shelby's student, and I guess that… I made an impression."

I finally settled for which words to phrase my relationship with the late Shelby Corcran.

I couldn't tell my daughter a slight truth and say that my relationship with the woman she thought was her mother was way more _complicated_ and it hurt me.

I felt my heart tear after the lie had rolled out of my mouth but I had to keep up the act and quiet thankfully I was a decent liar.

Beth gave me a suspicious before casually brushing it off and shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah." Beth finally made an effort to open up, "My mom was quiet big on impressions. The more theatric, the better."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of words.

For a twelve year old Beth was obviously very bright, and it made my heart well up that I had to figure this out about my daughter and it almost brought tears to my eyes that I wasn't there, in the first place, encouraging her to be the best she could be.

I ignored the tears that threatened to spill and kept my cool.

I mentally thanked the extra theatre courses I took in college, despite my busy schedule, just to spend a little more time with _him _after he had almost begged me claiming that they were fun, which, of course, they weren't.

Oh, god. There I was again, thinking about a relationship that shouldn't matter to me but still does.

I didn't know why I was still thinking about that guy even after all these years that had passed since we had last been together.

I was dumbfounded at why I still could smell the scent of his strong cologne that I hated so much, how I still could remember how his eyes would crinkle each time he smiled that dopey smile of his—

"Uh, Quinn." The sound of a little girl's voice shattered my train of thought and took me out of my trance.

"Yes?" I answered her trying to level my voice.

Oh,how I hated how uneasy he managed to make me even if he was god knows where _doing_ god knows whom.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, putting her DS away and the dirty plate and cup into the dishwasher.

"Yeah." I lied, pulling my gaze to the black liquid in my favorite coffee mug, acting like it was the most interesting thing I ever saw.

I could tell that Beth knew that I was lying since I dropped my stern mask for a slight second but she ignored it, and to that I was thankful. Since I didn't want to tell my twelve-year-old daughter about the guy whose heart I broke.

Hours later, after awkwardly saying goodnight to Beth and turning the lights off in each and every single room, I retired to my bedroom and lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling above me, trying to avoid thinking about he who shall not be named... and miserably failing.

The house was quiet as usual so when I heard small sniffling noises two rooms away I quickly got off my bed and headed towards the source of the sound.

I stood in front of her door, not sure what to do, listening to her crying as quietly as she could.

I finally decided to actually knock on her door and enter the room.

I raised my fist, about to knock, but then I let my arm cowardly fall back to my side.

I hated myself for being so emotionally wrecked and so scared.

I hated myself for not being able to comfort my own flesh and blood in the time she needed me most.

My Beth was grieving over a mother she thought she lost not knowing that her real one stood outside her bedroom door contemplating what to do.

Sure, Shelby _was_ a mom to her but she wasn't the one that put up with the morning sickness, back aches, sore feet, and severe hormonal mood swings.

I mentally kicked myself, nonetheless, I couldn't believe how selfish I was, thinking that and right in front of Beth's room.

Beth was _hurting_ and all I did was cling on to the past and my secret grudge on Shelby, the one I swore to Puck and my other friends was gone almost twelve years ago, in a life that seemed like a hazy dream to me.

So I gathered up all the courage I could muster and finally knocked the white wooden door waiting for a reply.

**A/N: I'm sorry... Sorry for taking a long time to update and sorry for making it so short, but I felt like it needed to stop there..**

**I hope you enjoyed this one and I promise to try to make the next one a bit longer.**


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